Anglo-Saxon Punishmentsdetails

Stocks were used, at an early period, as a means of punishing breakers of the law. The precise date when they were first emplyed in this country is not known, but we may infer from early mediaeval illustrations that the stocks were in general use amongst the Anglo-Saxons, for they often figure in drawings of their public places. The picture we give here is from the Harleian MSS., No. 65. The stocks were usually placed bu the side of the public road, at the entrance of a town. It will be observed that the two offenders are fastened to the columns of a public building by means of a rope or chain. It has been suggested that it is a court-house.” (p. 173)